The book can finally be closed on the case of the US Navy officer, whose sexual orientation was disclosed by America Online Inc and then used against him by the Navy, which tried to get him discharged for being openly gay. Master chief petty office Timothy McVeigh has reached settlements with both the Navy and AOL, it emerged Friday. The settlements had apparently been reached several months ago, but was not made public until the New York Times reported it Friday. Under the terms of the settlements, which require the sides to keep the financial elements secret, McVeigh will retire from the Navy with full benefits and tens of thousands of dollars to pay his legal fees, according to the Times. AOL apologized to McVeigh and agreed to pay him damages. In addition, AOL will conduct special scenario training with its 5,000 or so customer service representatives to ensure that they do not disclose personal information about AOL members in the future without the user’s consent or a court order.
